


Once Bitten, Twice Gay

by andthatisterrible



Series: Shoot Vampire AU [1]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/F, PWP, Vampires, they basically just bang a lot that's the story, vampire!shaw/human!root
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:41:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21581353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andthatisterrible/pseuds/andthatisterrible
Summary: Shaw is trying to live a peaceful life as a vampire in a secluded castle, profiting off of capitalism and avoiding humanity (as one does). Root shows up on her doorstep one night in the most dramatic way possible looking for a bit of fun. Fun is had, furniture is wrecked, and clothing is destroyed. Vampire!Shaw/human!Root fic that is mostly pwp or maybe porn with just enough plot to make things interesting.
Relationships: Root/Sameen Shaw
Series: Shoot Vampire AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562674
Comments: 45
Kudos: 249





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i have a weakness for vampire aus and there seemed to be a lot of vamp!root ones but not a lot of the reverse so i decided to even things up a bit.
> 
> there is like...the slightest hint of story/worldbuilding i guess but this is mostly just pwp. a little bit kinkier than my other stuff maybe? nothing crazy
> 
> i wrote it as one thing but it got super long so i split it into chapters for easier consumption
> 
> There is now a Chinese translation available [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28611003/chapters/70123185)!

The worst thing about living in a big, creepy gothic castle up on top of a dark, mysterious mountain was the tourists. Every year around Halloween, Shaw would inevitably have to chase off a bunch of kids who showed up on a dare (one year some of the little bastards had broken a window). There were also always the curious out of towners trying to spy on her with binoculars, and, about once a year, there was some annoying asshole seeking the 'gift' of eternal life. It gave her a headache, or would have if headaches were a thing she still got. It gave her the memory of a headache anyway.

The unwelcome visitors were a nuisance, but she put up with them because she had a pretty cushy deal going with the townsfolk. They got to have an Actual Vampire in the haunted castle on the hill which improved their tourist trade, and she got free blood bags from the local hospital, a cut of the tourist profits, and someone brought her packages up the hill to her front door once a week so she didn't have to interact with humans more than was absolutely necessary.

The Halloween season was the worst though, so, when the doorbell rang late one night in early November, she figured it was just a straggler from the usual seasonal nuisances. Maybe she'd even get lucky and it would be a wannabe vampire hunter. It'd been too long since she'd gotten to drop someone off the top of the castle and that always made for a good time.

She didn't see anyone when she peeked out of the peephole, so she cautiously opened the door a crack. Maybe some vampire hunter type was trying to be canny. She could always hope.

There was a woman in a diaphanous red robe sprawled artfully across Shaw's top step, her eyes shut and her head lolling to one side.

Shaw rolled her eyes. "Not interested in...whatever this is." She shut the door and locked it and went back to reading in front of the fireplace. She waited about fifteen minutes before she went back to check.

The woman was still lying there in the exact same position. Shaw sighed in frustration and went out to inspect her unwanted guest. The woman definitely wasn't dead, but she was very much unconscious--there was no faking how deeply asleep she was. She didn't look injured though, and her dress was way too clean to have run herself exhausted through the woods or anything.

There was a tiny empty vial lying halfway down the steps and Shaw had a sudden suspicion. She leaned over the unconscious woman and gingerly sniffed near her face. Yeah, no doubt about it, this crazy lady had drugged herself right on Shaw's doorstep. She was committed to whatever the hell this act was about, Shaw would give her that.

She thought about leaving her there since strange unconscious ladies were not on her list of self-imposed responsibilities, but it was damned cold out and given how little the woman was wearing dying from exposure was a real possibility. And Shaw did not want to deal with the mess that having a corpse on her front steps might cause (at least with the vampire hunters there was rarely anyone who came looking for them). There'd probably be paperwork involved.

She gave the woman a quick pat-down (trying to politely ignore how gauzy and insubstantial her robe was) to make sure she wasn't trying to be clever and hide a stake or holy water or whatever other dumbass shit. Nothing. Made sense if she was one of those vampire wannabes here to try and convince Shaw to turn her.

Shaw gingerly scooped her up and carried her to a small bedroom on the second floor that would have been a guest room if Shaw had ever had a guest. The good thing about this room was that it could be locked from the outside which meant she didn't have to worry about the woman waking up and wandering around and getting into all sorts of trouble. She dumped the woman on the bed and turned to go.

She paused in the doorway. Her castle had central heating, but it still was drafty and the woman had been ice cold. She glared at her unconscious guest and angrily went about lighting a fire in the fireplace. Humans were such a pain.

She made it out the door this time and locked it behind her. She'd let her sleep it off and then kick her ass out in the morning. Really that was more than generous of her.

Whatever the woman had taken to knock herself out must not have been that strong because, an hour later, Shaw heard her stirring. She'd gotten good at tuning out all the excess noises she could pick up with her sharp hearing, but it came in handy when she wanted to, say, read a book on one side of the castle but keep an ear out for her unwanted guest sleeping on the other side.

She could hear the woman moving around and testing the door handle. She didn't seem to be moving in a way that would suggest fear or agitation, but it was hard to tell with so little to go on. Shaw reluctantly got out of her warm chair by the fire (she didn't _need_ the warmth, but it felt nice), and silently relocated to outside the door to the woman's room. From here she could hear a lot more details--the woman's heartbeat was steady if perhaps a little fast, and her breathing was calm and even. Whoever she was, she wasn't even slightly scared.

Shaw heard the bed shift and the blankets rustle and then silence. She waited a few minutes, but the woman's breathing didn't slow down as if she was drifting off to sleep. She seemed to be...waiting.

There were a lot of reasons for Shaw to walk away and not come back until morning when she could dump the woman back outside with no qualms, and yet instead she found herself raising her fist to knock on the door. It was curiosity, she knew. She didn't get mysteries here often (ever) and now that she had one she didn't want to wait to figure it out. Immortality had taught her patience, but it had also taught her boredom.

"Come in," a voice called from the other side of the door.

Shaw opened the door cautiously. She knew the woman hadn't been armed, but there were things in the room she could have used as makeshift weapons if that was her goal and you didn't survive as long as Shaw had without being careful.

The woman was sitting upright against the pillows at the head of the bed, her legs curled under her. She looked completely at ease and fully recovered from her little fainting fit earlier. As Shaw stepped all the way into the room, she saw the woman's eyes take her in, travelling up and down her body at if to assess her. When she finally met Shaw's eyes, there was a pleased little smile on her face.

"Well, hi there," the woman said, sitting up off the pillows. "I suppose I have you to thank for bringing me here."

"If you mean did I carry you inside after you drugged yourself on my doorstep and almost froze to death, then yes."

The woman pursed her lips, but amusement danced in her eyes. "Why I'm sure I have no idea what you mean."

"Listen, lady--"

"Root."

"What?"

The woman's smile was lazy, but there was something steely in her gaze. "My name is Root."

Shaw stared at her blankly. She was fairly sure now that...Root wasn't here as some prank or dare, but she hadn't narrowed down any of the other possibilities. Vampire hunter seemed the most unlikely, but it was hard (and unwise) to be certain. She'd run into people who had a...thing for vampires before, and both the way Root had looked at her and the ridiculous dress she'd shown up in suggested a possible reason for her being here, but the thing with the vampire fetishists Shaw had encountered was that they very seldom cared about who the vampire they fucked was and more about the fact that they were fucking a vampire. Root's scrutiny had felt weirdly personal, and that didn't jive with Shaw's previous experiences. Which left one obvious possibility.

"Okay, Root, the thing is, I don't much like company and turning someone who I'd then be forced to share the world with for eternity is really not high on my to do list. So in the morning, I'll let you out and you can walk back down to town and get on with your life and let me get on with mine."

Root waited quietly for her to finish, nodding her head along with a look that Shaw would categorize as distinctly condescending.

"Oh, I'm not here for immortality or anything as exciting as that. I mean, it's an interesting idea, but definitely not on my agenda for the evening, Shaw."

Shaw's eyes narrowed. Root knew her name somehow. Maybe the vampire hunter scenario wasn't that far fetched after all. "What do you want then?"

Root scooted to the side of the bed and swung her legs over the edge. The flimsy red dress bunched up around her upper thigh showing off long, slender legs that Shaw definitely should not be staring at. Dammit.

She stared at the space slightly to the left of Root until she'd gotten up and the dress had fallen back into place. She was so busy trying not to notice Root's scantily clad state that it took her a second to realize that Root was approaching her. Root stopped a few steps away and looked her over again with that hungry look she'd had since Shaw had opened the door.

"Honestly, Shaw? I spotted you down in the village convenience store last night and asked around about you and found out you lived here."

It sounded like an honest answer, but it only raised more questions.

"How'd you know I was a...I mean how did you spot me?" She liked to think that no one could tell what she was at a glance.

"Oh, I didn't know at the time."

Shaw was only getting more confused.

"You see--" Root took a step towards her. "--I travel a lot for...work, which is good in terms of being able to find, ah, companionship but avoid all the messy bits. So I saw someone interesting and I decided to see where it went. The vampire part I only found out later, I promise, though it's a nice bonus."

Shaw gaped at her for a second. "You...you drugged yourself on my doorstep because you're on a business trip and you want to get laid?"

Root raised a hand and traced a finger across her own lips, smiling when she saw Shaw's eyes follow the movement.

"You wouldn't have let me in otherwise. The townsfolk were very clear that you didn't like visitors, but one of them also mentioned how you'd rescued some boy's puppy from a snowstorm a few years ago so I figured you must have a bit of a soft spot in that lovely undead chest of yours."

Shaw made a brief note to herself to kill anyone spreading the puppy story. This was what she got for being nice one time.

"I think you'll find I have a distinct lack of soft spots," she said gruffly. "And you get to go back to the village tomorrow, itch unscratched."

Root's finger dipped between her lips for a split second and Shaw saw a flash of her tongue. Then Root reached out to her, one finger glistening. Shaw moved so fast her arm blurred as she intercepted Root's hand. Root let out a little gasp at Shaw's grip, and her eyes lit up with something that definitely wasn't fear.

"It's fascinating how you did that," Root said, twisting her wrist back and forth within Shaw's grasp. "You can move faster than I can see and I don't think any force in the world could pry your fingers free, but somehow you didn't hurt me at all. That's an impressive amount of control." She looked up to meet Shaw's eyes. "And compelling evidence that you wouldn't actually hurt me. Unless I wanted you to, anyway." She smiled sweetly.

Shaw released her arm and stepped back towards the door. "Don't push your luck."

Root shook out her wrist and rubbed it with her other hand. "May I ask why not?"

"No." She was doing her best to tamp down her keen senses, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to not be aware of just how much Root was into her. And it was also becoming increasingly difficult to pretend she wasn't tempted.

Clearly it was time for a strategic retreat.

"You can sleep here tonight, but in the morning you're out of here."

Root looked like she was going to protest, but instead she dropped her gaze to the floor and gave a little shrug. "Whatever you say, Shaw."

"Exactly." Shaw turned to go.

"There is one other thing, though. Just one tiny little request."

Shaw gritted her teeth. "What?"

"I left my bag on my bike parked nearby. Do you think you could get it for me? I'd go myself, but it's so cold outside."

Shaw could have retorted to that in a lot of different ways, but she figured the fastest way to get out of Root's presence was to just agree.

"Fine." She slammed the door behind her, a little harder than was necessary, and locked it. No way was she letting Root out to roam.

Root's 'bike' was easy enough to find and Shaw took a moment to appreciate the very nice motorcycle that Root had left parked on the side of the road. At least she had good taste. Root's bag was a small backpack strapped to the back of the bike. Shaw waited until she was back inside before she went through it. Toiletries, a couple of IDs (all fake, she was sure), some money in a few different currencies, a few changes of clothes (the style of which made her reevaluate Root's fashion tastes), a...vibrator...which...okay….whatever…(she didn't need that mental image no matter how nice it was), ....handcuffs???, and a--

Shaw stood there in the hallway, seething with annoyance and okay, yeah, maybe a bit turned on. Whoever the hell Root was the rest of the time, she'd had the guts to show up unarmed on the doorstep of a vampire with a bag full of sex toys. Shaw was impressed. Pissed off, but impressed.

Not impressed enough to change her mind, though. She opened the door to Root's room and tossed her bag in, trying very hard not to notice how Root was sprawled across the bed.

"Sure you won't change your mind, Shaw?" Root asked. Shaw watched as Root's fingers traced patterns on the side of her thigh.

"We've got nothing more to discuss." She shut the door and fled back downstairs.

She reclaimed her chair in front of the fire and tried to relax. Stupid fucking Root and her lame seduction tactics that were laughably predictable and absolutely shouldn't have worked. Hopefully she was on a very short trip and would soon be back on the other side of the country. Or world.

Some treacherous part of Shaw's mind was trying very hard to point out that there was no reason she _shouldn't_ go back upstairs and fuck Root through the mattress. They were both consenting adults and Root was definitely hot and it could be fun. But something about the idea felt like giving in and losing whatever weird game Root had started when she'd decided that drugging herself on Shaw's doorstep was a good way of picking her up.

In the middle of Shaw's attempts to rationalize the situation to herself, her ears picked up a sound that it took her brain a second to process. Shaw groaned and sunk down in her seat with her head in her hands. Really good hearing could be more of a curse than a blessing in some instances, and one of those instances was when the stupidly attractive house guest you were trying not to bang decided to get herself off in your guest room.

It was definitely that little red vibrator she'd had in her bag that Shaw could hear now, though now that she'd heard that she found herself straining to hear more. She spent about ten seconds debating with herself and then silently made her way upstairs and let herself into the little sitting room next to Root's bedroom. She eased herself down into an armchair as quietly as she could manage and then turned her attention to the wall that separated them.

She could still distinctly hear the buzz of the little vibrator, but now she could also hear Root's heavy breathing and the little noises escaping from her throat. The sheets rustled and Shaw imagined Root writhing on top of the bed, one hand down between her legs, and that ridiculous dress hiked up around her waist. Fuck but that was a nice image.

She shut her eyes and let her mind fill in the visuals for her. Root's legs would be spread wide on the bed and her hips would be pressing up into the sensations. Her spare hand would be, hmm, playing with one of her nipples through the flimsy dress, yes.

Shaw wondered if she could get herself off here without Root hearing her in return. She couldn't remember exactly how bad human hearing had been but damn was it tempting.

She heard Root shift on the bed again and a ragged moan followed after that made Shaw twitch in her seat.

"Sameen…."

The throaty whisper had barely reached Shaw's ears before she was up on her feet and moving to the door without ever having decided to do so. She paused outside the door, some rational part of her brain making the case that this could all be part of an elaborate trap of some kind. There was another moan from the other side of the door and Shaw fished the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She hesitated then, remembering that she probably should knock (even if she had the extreme suspicion that Root had put on this little show for her), and rapped on the door.

The sound of the vibrator cut off and then Root's voice called, "Come in, Shaw." And boy did she have a way of making that sound _filthy_.

She opened the door and peeked in, expecting that Root would have made herself presentable and be pretending she hadn't just been fantasizing about Shaw while getting herself off. Root was sprawled across the bed almost exactly as Shaw had imagined her just seconds ago. The only thing that saved Shaw's brain from going completely non-functional was that Root had pulled her dress down just low enough to cover herself. Shaw tried very hard not to stare at the glistening trail that peaked out from under the dress along the inside of Root's thigh. She failed.

"Change your mind?" Root's voice was teasing and smug and Shaw was really annoyed now but also really turned on and even more annoyed about that.

Root must have set aside the vibrator because both her hands were bare now. She reached down between her legs with one hand and started to stroke up her own thigh with one finger, her eyes locked on Shaw's face. The scant cover of the red material slipped a little higher.

Shaw moved across the room, faster than any human could, and pinned Root to the bed. Root's breath came out in a surprised gasp and she looked up at Shaw with wide eyes. Shaw had Root's wrists pinned above her head and her legs pinned down and yet she still felt like she was at a disadvantage here. How the hell had one extremely lame nymphomaniac stalker gotten under her skin like this?

"If we're going to do this, then we're doing it my way," she said, grateful that her voice was steady, if a bit thicker than usual.

"Whatever you say, sweetie."

"So before I do anything, you need to tell me what you want."

Root raised an eyebrow. "I thought I'd made that abundantly clear."

Shaw shook her head. "I'm going to fuck you--" Root's face split into a huge grin. "--but there's other ways this can go, too." She bared her teeth in a snarl that she knew would show off her two elongated canine teeth. Root's heart rate picked up further and she made a little noise in the back of her throat that almost sounded like a whine.

"What…" Root paused to get her breathing back under control. "What do I need to know?"

The fact she had taken the matter seriously made Shaw feel a little more relaxed. Usually when she got laid, she pretended to be human, tried to keep things simple. For all that humans acted like they thought vampires were sexy, there were more than a few who became a lot less enthusiastic when faced with the reality. And even though the vampire fetishists were happy to fuck a vampire, they, well, they just creeped her out.

Root, on the other hand, had apparently wanted to fuck her after seeing her buying paper towels at the local convenience store and hadn't balked at all when she'd found out about the vampire bit. There was an opportunity here for Shaw to get to have far more honest sex than she could usually get, but what that entailed needed to be Root's decision.

Root studied her carefully, curious but not afraid. "What does it feel like? Getting bitten, I mean."

"It hurts. A lot." Root remained completely still under her. "But I can also make it feel good. _Really_ good. It will still hurt, but it won't _only_ hurt. If you want."

Root nodded thoughtfully. "And if I said no?"

"Then we can just skip that part. Not a big deal."

"It wouldn't, ah, turn me? I think that's what you call it?"

"No, that's way more complicated."

"And how much blood would you actually take?"

"Not much. It can be more of a sex thing than a feeding thing if I want it to."

Root nodded almost to herself. "Alright then, that's a go for biting, but don't make it feel good the first time. I want to know what it actually feels like first."

Shaw opened her mouth to ask if she was sure, but Root cut her off.

"I think you'll find I enjoy a bit of pain with my pleasure, Shaw."

"Good to know." And probably better this way. She was always uneasy about her ability to make biting feel good.

She hesitated for another second, but Root leaned up, pulling against Shaw's grip on her, and Shaw ducked her head down to meet her. Their lips pressed together in a tentative kiss and then Shaw deepened the kiss and pushed Root back against the bed. Root was a lot less smug with Shaw's tongue in her mouth and Shaw was feeling pretty pleased with herself until Root's tongue flicked past her lips and, before Shaw could pull back, the rich taste of blood flooded through her mouth, drowning her senses.

She pulled away, gasping for breath she didn't need (breathing was...complicated for vampires) and licked the excess blood off her lips. Underneath her, Root looked a little surprised, her lips stained red with her own blood.

"Uh, yeah, I forgot to mention. Watch your tongue and lips. They're really sharp." She watched Root closely, worried that she'd messed this up already. "Problem?"

"Not at all." Root surged back up to kiss her again and it went better this time. Shaw tasted the fresh blood still on Root's lips and groaned in pleasure into her mouth. Drinking blood out of a blood bag or a human donor was about as stimulating as watching paint dry, but in the heat of the moment, with Root pinned under her and the scent of Root's arousal driving her mad, it was intoxicating.

When she drew back again, she sat up and released Root's wrists.

"Leave them," she ordered when Root went to move. "You don't move them until I say so or we're done."

There was still a thin thread of mistrust she had mixed with her dislike for how easily Root had gotten her way and she liked the idea of staying in control of the situation until she dealt with that.

Root looked amused by the order, but did what she was told. Shaw nodded in satisfaction and then pulled her shirt off over her head. When she turned back from tossing it aside she found Root staring at her with more raw lust than any human should be capable of projecting. Shaw flexed her arms ever so slightly and watched Root swallow heavily.

"Don't move your hands," she scolded when she saw Root's fingers twitching as if to reach out and touch her.

She decided to remove the temptation from Root's reach and shimmied down to sit between her legs. She stroked up one leg from the back of the knee to the inside of the thigh, just short of where the dress lay, and watched Root's muscles tremble under her fingers. Root prodded her in the side with her other foot and Shaw gave her leg a light warning slap, not even hard enough to sting.

"None of that." If anything the slap seemed to have just made Root more determined and she prodded Shaw again. "You looking to get a sore ass? Because it takes a lot before my arm gets tired."

Root tilted her head as if considering the offer. "Maybe later. First, I really need you to fuck me."

"Then behave." She smiled when she said it though. Most times she had to be so damn careful during sex that it turned into more of a way to get off quickly and less of a way to have fun. _This_ was fun.

She finally reached for the hem of Root's dress and bunched it up higher around her hips. Root spread her legs wider in response and Shaw settled between her legs. She licked the inside of Root's thigh, tasting the drying trail of her arousal there. She could hear the blood thundering through Root's veins just below her skin and the urge to bite down was strong, but she held off.

It took her a second to register the problem when Root's fingers threaded through her hair in an attempt to make her move her head to where Root wanted it.

She lifted her head enough to growl, "Hands!" at Root and then slapped her once on the side of her ass, hard enough to sting this time. The noise that pulled out of Root suggested that it was the opposite of a deterrent (Shaw filed that away for later), but she did put her hands back over her head.

Satisfied, Shaw lowered her head again and finally did what she'd been thinking about for the last hour. Root was already slick and wet from her earlier stunt with the vibrator, and Shaw grunted in approval at the taste of her. She'd learned how to be very careful with her teeth in more sensitive areas, but that didn't mean she couldn't thoroughly enjoy the way Root's hips twitched up to meet her when she thrust her tongue into her. She repositioned a bit and pulled Root's dress tight across her stomach so she could look up her body unobstructed when she sucked her clit into her mouth. Root was staring right back down at her, her eyes hooded and her lips parted.

Shaw stayed there a while, familiarizing herself with all of Root's little noises and reactions, figuring out how to make her squirm and how to draw the best noises out of her. She waited until Root was pretty far along, her hips pressing into Shaw's mouth and her moans more and more desperate, and then she pulled back, wiping her mouth off on the back of her hand with a smirk.

Root's eyes shot open, outraged. "Why'd you stop?"

"I'm going to bite you now." She watched Root closely for a reaction.

"Sounds divine, but can you get on with it already?" Root had finally lost her edge of control over herself and it made Shaw feel very pleased. Root was a strung-out mess, writhing on the bed and completely at her mercy. She was a little proud of herself and felt slightly more okay about the whole Root inviting herself in for sex thing.

"I'm going to make sure you keep feeling good, but this is still going to hurt like fuck, so I thought you might like some input into where I bite you." She was dying to sink her fangs into the soft skin on the inside of Root's thigh, but she thought that might not be the best place to start with.

"I'll leave the choice entirely in your hands. Your hands which you could be doing much better things with right now."

Shaw chuckled. "In a minute." She looked over Root, considering. The neck was always a classic, of course. The wrist wasn't a bad choice for a first time though it wasn't the sexiest location. So how about….

Root's dress was as flimsy as it looked and tore open easily when Shaw pulled at it. She ripped it open down the front and let the ruins of it fall around Root on the bed. She looked down at Root, completely naked beneath her now with her hands twisting in the sheets above her and her neck and chest flushed red.

Shaw nodded to herself in satisfaction and then leaned down to lick a wet line along the curve of Root's breast. Root's breath hitched a little and Shaw figured she'd guessed where this was headed. She glanced back up at her one last time.

"You tell me to stop and I will, okay?"

"Sweetie, your little chivalry thing is adorable, but--"

Shaw cut her off with a low, menacing growl. It was an authentic growl, the type you might hear from, say, a vampire that happened to be able to turn into a wolf sometimes, and it definitely got Root's attention.

"If I want you to stop, you'll be the first to know," Root promised her solemnly.

"Good." Satisfied with that, Shaw shifted so she could get a hand back down between Root's legs and rub tight circles around her clit. Root squirmed and gave a content little sigh, pressing into Shaw's fingers as much as she could in their current position. Shaw took a few minutes, let Root get nice and worked up again, and then licked a line across the side of her breast again in warning.

It was hard to describe what biting someone felt like. Biting a donor was awkward and not particularly fun. Ripping into someone with her fangs in combat was exhilarating, but not at all sexual. But biting someone in the middle of sex? She might compare it to the heady feeling of sinking her fingers into someone for the first time. It definitely didn't feel the same, but the thrill of it was similar. It felt powerful and intoxicating and a bit possessive and the power of it rolled through her like a wave.

She sank her teeth into the soft skin of Root's breast and felt her tense up underneath her. The sharp taste of blood flooded her mouth and shot through her like a line of heat. Her instincts demanded that she rip into Root, really feed on her fully, but she'd never been much of one to be ruled by her instincts. Root gave a soft whimper and Shaw almost pulled back, but then Root's hand was threading into her hair, holding her in place, and Root's body softened under hers as she relaxed into it.

Shaw turned her attention back to working her fingers between Root's legs and finally slid two fingers into Root. Root felt so hot and wet around her fingers and Shaw muffled a moan into the side of Root's breast. There was no way she could describe the amazing dual sensations of having both her fangs and her fingers as deep in Root as they would go.

Root's muscles fluttered around her fingers and her breathing grew more and more unsteady. Her fingers tightened in Shaw's hair painfully hard as she came and Shaw finally eased her fangs out and helped her ride out her orgasm with slow and steady strokes from her fingers.

She carefully pulled her fingers out as Root was recovering and examined the bite mark she'd left stamped on the upper curve of her breast. Shaw wasn't particularly possessive on her own, but some vampire instinct in her definitely was and, while it didn't factor into her life much, it did mean that she took extreme satisfaction from seeing how she'd marked Root. She carefully licked the trails of blood away, making Root twitch under her.

"You good?" she asked after what she deemed was enough time for Root to recover.

"Mmmm." Root sounded pleased even if she looked a bit dazed.

Shaw sat up and moved next to her to examine her. Root's pulse was still hammering from her orgasm, but starting to calm down. Her eyes were a bit glazed, but had just enough focus that Shaw wasn't worried.

Satisfied that Root was okay, Shaw left her on the bed to recover and went to the bathroom to get her a glass of water. When she got back, Root had sat up and looked almost nervous. Her face melted into a smile when she saw Shaw though.

"I thought you'd run off and left me before I had a chance to pay you back," Root said as Shaw walked over to the bed.

Shaw shoved the glass at her. "Figured you might be thirsty after all the noise you were making."

"That's so thoughtful of you."

Shaw scowled at her and Root laughed. She sipped her water and continued to smile at Shaw in a dopey way. After a minute she set the glass aside and Shaw sat down on the edge of the bed near her.

"I hope this didn't hurt too much," she said, reaching out to brush the bite mark with her fingertips. Gods but she wanted to do that again.

"I'm fine, Shaw. I told you I liked some pain, and I meant it."

Shaw's fingers kept tracing the bite, remembering what it had felt like to take Root with her fingers and her fangs at the same time. A short while ago she'd been trying to get rid of Root and now she was seriously considering asking her to stay for a few days.

"Next time, though, I'd like to see what it feels like when you make it feel good."

"Next time," Shaw echoed. Next time sounded very good. "When is next time?"

Root chuckled. "Well, first I'd like to fuck you, and then I was thinking maybe we could have some fun with some of the toys I brought along. How does that sound?"

Shaw stood up and started fumbling with her belt. "It sounds like we'd better get started."

Root reached down to the floor to grab her little bag and fish around in it. She pulled out a pair of handcuffs, letting them dangle from one finger. "How do you feel about getting tied up?"

Shaw could rip through cuffs like they were wet tissue paper, but the idea was still appealing. "I think we can make something work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check out this [amazingly accurate art](https://themaarika.tumblr.com/post/189687930008/based-on-this-spicy-vampire-fic) of Root being thirsty for Shaw in a convenience store in the middle of the night


	2. Chapter 2

Shaw examined the red marks on her wrists with satisfaction. She'd managed to destroy both the headboard and the cuffs in one go, much to her delight and Root's annoyance (the fact it had annoyed Root had made it even better). The red marks were already fading due to how fast she could heal, but she could enjoy them while they lasted.

"So what else can you do?" Root asked. She was leaning over the island counter in the kitchen and carefully dunking chocolate chip cookies in a glass of milk. Shaw had taken a speedy trip down to the village to rob a grocery store for her (wouldn't do to have Root run out of stamina this early) and had realized when she got there that she had no clue what Root might like. Did she eat meat? Was she lactose intolerant? Any allergies? Why was the human body so damn finicky?

She'd ended up getting a bit of everything and then thinking about how she might cook something for Root. She'd used to love to cook ages ago as a human, but she'd stopped once she'd turned since she hadn't needed to anymore. It might be fun to do that again. But Root had made a beeline for the cookies and Shaw had watched in bewildered amusement as she dunked each cookie into milk with a look of concentration on her face, like she was determined to get the correct level of milk saturation without sogginess. It was...kind of endearing.

Who the hell was this woman who'd shown up on the doorstep of a dangerous stranger ready to fuck but also ate cookies like it was her job?

"What do you mean?" she asked, though she sort of knew already.

"Well, for example, the sunlight thing. Is that a myth?"

"Eh, not exactly, but I don't turn into a pile of dust or anything." She was getting distracted by the fact Root was only wearing underwear and one of Shaw's muscle tank tops that she must have stolen when Shaw was out. "It's more like an allergy almost."

Root half-turned to look at her in delight. "An allergy? Really?"

"Yeah, when I first go out I'll start sneezing and my skin will get itchy and red. If I stay out too long I'll start getting blisters. Never heard of a vampire outright dying in the sun, but it gets really gross if we stay out too long."

"You sneeze. That's so cute." Root turned back around with a little more swing to her hips than was absolutely necessary.

"Watch it," Shaw warned. She was _not_ cute.

"Or what?" Root leaned her elbows on the counter so she was bent forwards over it, invitation clear. She picked up another cookie as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"What else did you want to know?" Shaw asked as she moved over behind Root. Normally she wasn't crazy about answering nosy questions about herself, but she found she didn't mind with Root, especially not under the current promising circumstances.

"Hmm, how about crosses and holy water?"

Shaw took her time before answering. She stroked a hand down Root's hip and around the curve of her ass. Root seemed very agreeable to that, so she rolled her underwear down to bare her ass to the room.

"Religious stuff doesn't do jack shit," she said, focused more on her current task. "There's thousands of religions and if we were disabled by all of them we'd never get things done." She rubbed her hand back and forth over one of Root's butt cheeks and then took a step back. "What else?"

"Running water?"

Shaw lined up her hand and slapped Root hard on the curve of her ass. Root had been expecting it, but she still gave a slight yelp and dropped her cookie all the way into her milk glass.

"Too hard?" Shaw asked. It was sometimes hard to gauge her strength in terms of human pain thresholds and, while she wanted to hurt Root, she didn't want to actually hurt her in a bad way that she wouldn't enjoy.

"Mmm, no, that was nice. I lost my cookie though." She sounded grouchy about that.

"What a shame." Shaw delivered another ringing slap right in time to make Root fumble the cookie she'd just recused. That got her a sulky glare. "Running water is another myth. Be really dumb if I couldn't step over a stream."

"What about stakes?"

Shaw shook her head sadly and let her hand fly again. "Can you show me a single creature that _wouldn't_ die if you stuck a stake through its heart?"

"You can turn into animals though, right? I got that impression from the growling, which was very hot, by the way."

Shaw smacked Root three more times in rapid succession and then paused to admire her handiwork. Root's butt was a delightful shade of red where she'd hit her and she could smell exactly how pleased Root was with the situation.

"Yeah, a few types, though I rarely do. It's kind of a pain in the ass." She smacked Root again to emphasize her point. "Animals' brains are really different and even though I'm mostly still me there's all these extra instincts kicking in. It's not my favorite thing ever." She knew exactly who she was and she didn't like losing even a little of that.

"What about bats?"

Shaw pinched her this time instead, right in the spreading redness on her buttcheek. Root yelped in protest.

"No bats," Shaw said firmly. "Little flappy assholes who only think about eating and shitting. Not interested."

"A wolf then."

"Yeah, and a panther. Wolverine if I'm in the mood." She was not going to mention the whole squid thing. Ever.

"And eternal life?"

Shaw grabbed Root by the hips and pulled her back one more step so she could get a better angle. "Supposedly, though I have my doubts. So far, so good, I guess."

This time she kept smacking Root's ass for a longer time, changing up where her hand struck and measuring out each blow evenly with a slight pause between. Root had given up on her cookies now. Her eyes were shut and her fingernails were trying to dig into the marble countertop.

"You know I half expected you to be more like a traditional vampire from the stories," Root said in a voice that was surprisingly steady given the circumstances.

"Is that why you showed up in a piece of gauze? You think I was going to wear evening dress and fuck you over the castle parapet?"

"The thought had crossed my mind."

"Hmm, maybe later." Dress up wasn't her thing, but considering Root was letting her whale on her ass in the middle of her kitchen she could afford to be generous.

She eased up and rubbed a hand up and down Root's hip soothingly. Root's ass was going to sting like hell for the rest of the night, but Shaw had also thoughtfully picked up something to help with that at the store. Planning ahead was important.

"Sameen." Root sounded like someone barely holding onto a thread of control. "I need you to go get something from my bag upstairs right now."

"Why would I do that?"

"Please."

Shaw gave in at the please. "Take the rest of your clothes off while I'm gone."

She didn't normally use her speed to get around her house, but she felt the situation merited it this time. She knew exactly what Root wanted from her bag and only slowed down long enough to grab it. When she got back to the kitchen, Root was still exactly where she had been, but now completely naked.

"Aren't you tired at all?" she asked as she stepped into the strap-on harness. "It's almost 4am."

"Time zones," Root explained. "My brain thinks it's much earlier. Also I had that nap earlier."

"Right." Root had said she travelled for work. "Just what do you do anyway?" She stepped up behind Root and bent her down more firmly over the counter.

"International assassin and hacker." Her fingers clawed the counter a little when Shaw tested her out with a single finger. "I'm more than ready, Shaw."

"Yeah, I can tell." Root must have really enjoyed having her ass smacked raw. She lined the dildo up and thrust into Root with a single, smooth stroke. Root moaned and scrambled for purchase on the smooth counter top while Shaw gave her a minute to get used to the stretch. Root wiggled around and adjusted her stance a bit and then pushed back against Shaw.

"Sounds like a fun job," Shaw said as she rolled her hips forwards. Root was pressing back into her eagerly and Shaw started a slow rhythm, staring down between them to watch herself thrusting into Root. Fuck that was hot.

"It has its moments," Root said between ragged breaths. "See new places, meet new people."

"Kill new people." She started thrusting a little harder making Root's hips smack into the counter on each thrust. She figured Root's butt was probably stinging really good right about now, but she never let on that it was.

"Mmm, or get fucked senseless by new people in their surprisingly modern kitchens."

Shaw snorted. "I had someone renovate the place when I moved in. The castle aesthetic is fine, but not too practical." She looped her arm around Root and started rubbing her clit as well.

"As fascinating at this is, can you fuck me already?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Shaw grumbled indignantly. She couldn't believe Root was the one complaining about too much chatting. Usually Shaw wasn't interested in stuff like that at all, but maybe she'd gone without for so long that she missed it a bit. So rude of Root to cut her off like that.

She doubled down and put all her efforts into banging Root's brains out, with one hand braced on the counter to get better leverage. She still had to keep that edge of control to make sure she didn't accidentally hurt her and for one wild second she wondered what it would be like to turn Root so she could really go all out with her. Would an eternity of potential annoyance be worth endless amazing sex?

Root's arms flailed over the counter, sending cookies flying everywhere. Shaw watched the glass of milk go tumbling over the far edge and heard it shatter on the stone floor. That shit was probably antique and definitely had cost a fortune but somehow she couldn't bring herself to care. It had died for a good cause.

Root let out a high-pitched keening sound right before she came and her head fell forwards to press into the counter. Shaw bent down over her, her hips driving hard as she chased down her own orgasm. She came only seconds after Root, collapsing against her back as she came down. Root was still limp under her and Shaw stood up and smoothed a hand up her sweaty back and then carefully pulled out. Root slumped onto the counter, breathing in short uneven gasps as she recovered. Her legs looked a little shaky so Shaw helped anchor her against the counter. Last thing she needed was Root falling and busting her already-sensitive butt on the floor.

For a second, Shaw was worried that Root was just going to pass out there and take a nap right on the counter, but after a few minutes she straightened up and pushed Shaw back. She turned around and leaned her weight back on the counter while she ran her eyes over Shaw.

"It's strange how human you seem in some ways," she said.

Shaw frowned, unhappy with the observation for some reason she didn't understand. "Sorry to disappoint. A lot of vampire legends are exaggerations or just plain bullshit."

"Oh, I'm not disappointed. Curious, I think. I was wondering on my way up here if vampires could even have sex. Orgasms, I mean."

"I think the line of people wanting to sign up for eternal life would be a lot shorter if we couldn't."

"True." Root looked up to meet her eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset."

Root quirked an eyebrow at her. "Well, let me make it up to you anyway."

The strap-on got hastily discarded onto the floor and it was Shaw's turn to get pressed up against the counter while Root dropped to her knees in front of her. Root's face was full of almost-reverent wonder as she looked up at her, but also with a hint of a leer. She relaxed, content to let Root take the lead now, and acquiesced easily when Root urged her leg up over her shoulder.

"You didn't bite me again," Root mused as she explored Shaw with one finger.

"Maybe after this." She'd thought about it, but it hadn't seemed like the right time and she hadn't had a good angle for it. Though the way Root had practically taken a chunk out of her neck earlier made her wonder which one of them was really the vampire here.

"God, you're so wet," Root murmured with awe in her voice. She leaned in to put her mouth on Shaw before she could reply.

Shaw had found out earlier that Root's clever tongue was good for more than just being a brat. She already felt pretty close to the edge despite having just come, but she wanted to savor the sight of Root's glossy hair between her legs as she knelt at her feet for more than a few minutes. She wrapped her hand in Root's hair and tried to slow her movements down. Root looked up at her, winked, and pushed into her with two fingers.

"Fuck," Shaw hissed in appreciation. "You're such a fucking brat, you know that?"

Root made some sort of noise in response, but it was so muffled that Shaw couldn't tell what it meant. She leaned back against the counter more and let her body give in to Root's hot mouth sucking at her and Root's fingers stroking inside her. Root's free hand scratched lines down the side of her thigh, a sweet sting to contrast with the pleasure. With the small part of her brain that was still rational, Shaw wondered what the odds were of her ever finding someone she was so instantly and easily sexually compatible with again. Eternity was a long time and statistically speaking the odds were on her side, but--

Root's tongue pushed her over the edge unexpectedly and drove all other thoughts from her mind and she pulled Root's face against herself as she rode out the pulsing waves of her orgasm.

Root sat back on her heels after, looking very pleased with herself. She got to her feet and leaned in to kiss Shaw, her wet fingers pressed against Shaw's side. It was a sloppy, deep kiss that tasted like Shaw, and Root seemed to have caught on quickly to how to kiss Shaw without ripping her tongue open on her fangs.

"You're pretty good at that," Shaw said when they broke away.

"You mean for someone who doesn't have centuries of experience?"

"No, just in general."

Root beamed. "Why, thank you, sweetie."

Shaw was a little wary of the 'sweetie' thing still, but she guessed it was harmless enough as long as no one found out about it ever.

"Whatever," she grumbled.

Root stepped back from her and examined the wreckage they'd caused in the kitchen. Then she shrugged and turned away, clearly having decided it was not her problem.

"Now, I think you said something about biting me again?"

Shaw nodded. "Yeah, we can do that, but let's go back upstairs."

* * *

Root had expected Shaw to lead them back to the little room she'd woken up in, but instead, Shaw headed up another flight of stairs. The stairwell was drafty, the stone cold under her bare feet, and the tank top she'd put back on didn't help at all. She was shivering by the time they reached the third floor, and she saw Shaw glance back at her as they walked down the hallway (which was thankfully carpeted).

It was fascinating how Shaw's expression could remain so neutral and disinterested while all those little gears in her mind turned and whirred constantly. Root had been watching her closely since she'd gotten here and she got the impression that Shaw never stopped thinking and observing and analyzing. It was a nice blend--Shaw's peaceful, quiet demeanor set against her active, intelligent mind.

Also, she really knew how to spank a girl. Root was going to have delightfully sore ass for a while still.

She blinked in surprise at the room Shaw led them into. This room was much larger than hers had been, and, while sparsely furnished, looked well-thought-out, like someone had put everything exactly where it belonged and hadn't bothered with anything else. No windows, either. The bed was also a lot larger and the sheets were rumpled. This had to be Shaw's room. She hadn't expected to be allowed in here.

Maybe Shaw was warming up to her.

"Sit." Shaw waved a hand at the bed and then went over to the large fireplace and started adding wood to it from the pile.

Root perched on the edge of the bed, wincing a little when she sat. She distracted herself by watching the way Shaw's muscles rippled under her skin as she moved the wood around in the fireplace. She'd really gotten lucky with this trip. And hoped to get lucky a few more times before she had to leave.

"How long are you in town for?" Shaw asked as if she'd heard her thoughts.

"Only a couple days. I get to see a lot of different places when I travel, but I rarely get to stay anywhere long." She was still shivering so she gathered up the top blanket off the bed and draped it around herself.

Shaw turned back around and frowned when she saw her. "Sorry, sometimes I forget…"

"That humans are massively inefficient organisms and prone to getting cold without extra layers of protection?"

"No, I don't forget that. I just don't know how to judge what cold is for a human anymore."

The way Shaw went back and forth on how she spoke about not being human had Root at a loss. She wondered if maybe Shaw had never quite fully stopped thinking of herself as human even after all these years. And who was Root to say she wasn't? She was trying to be a bit more cautious with her questions though, which was why she'd refrained from asking Shaw why she didn't have a coffin in here.

"Why don't you come warm me up then?"

Shaw glanced back to make sure the fire was burning and then walked over to stand in front of Root. She hadn't bothered to get dressed to come upstairs, and she seemed unconcerned about both the temperature and her casual nudity. Root wondered if the latter was a vampire thing, or if Shaw had always been so self-confident. Either way it was a win for her since she got to stare at Shaw to her heart's content.

Shaw looked at her for a few heavy minutes, as if trying to make up her mind about something. She must have come to a decision, because she climbed onto the bed next to Root and then around behind her. She arranged herself so she was kneeling just behind Root, pressed up against her back through the blanket.

Root shivered when Shaw brushed her hair back behind one ear and ran her nose up the side of her neck.

"How does it work?" Root asked. "The part where you can make your bite feel good?"

Shaw's arm wrapped around her and her hand came to rest on Root's bare thigh. Root had expected Shaw to be cold to the touch, but, while she wasn't as warm as a human would have been, she wasn't ice cold either by a long shot. She wondered if it had something to do with when Shaw had last fed, which brought up an interesting line of thought about what it would be like to have Shaw actually feed off of her.

"It's like a toxin sort of. If I want it to, it'll enter your bloodstream when I bite you."

"An aphrodisiac toxin?"

"More or less." Shaw's fingers swirled in lazy circles along the inside of her thigh. "You feeling any warmer?"

"Definitely." She made a noise of protest when Shaw sat back and tugged her blanket away, but she also wanted Shaw's bare skin pressed up against her own again so she pulled her shirt off over her head without prompting.

Shaw was up against her back again almost instantly and her hand returned to Root's leg.

"Vampires are immune to it," Shaw said, "and I've never experienced it personally, but I'm told it's strong enough that some people come without any other stimulation."

Root was very much hoping for the other stimulation promised by Shaw's wandering hand, but she was still intrigued. "Do you use it on people often?"

"Basically never." Shaw's free hand pushed the hair back on Root's neck again. "Don't usually tell people I'm a vampire so it's not like I can just bite them, and I wouldn't anyway. Not without permission for something like that."

That must have been where this conversation had been headed the whole time. "Well, you definitely have my permission."

"I've heard it can feel really intense. You might be a bit out of it after."

"I trust you," she said, hoping those would be the right words to get Shaw to stop stalling. And she did trust her to some extent, more than expected for someone she'd only met a few hours ago.

Shaw hummed against the side of her throat in acknowledgment. Her fingers teased higher on Root's thigh and Root spread her legs and leaned back into the cradle of Shaw's body.

She'd thought that Shaw would go right for the kill and bite her immediately, but instead she focused on working Root up with her fingers, circling her clit and then dipping inside her for just a second. It was a nice, slow build and Root let herself relax into it. Shaw was so good at making her feel good and if she had to give that up soon then she was going to enjoy it as much as she could.

Shaw pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the side of her neck, and just the tiniest hint of fangs touched her skin and made her shiver.

"Do it, Shaw."

Shaw grabbed her hair and pulled her head to one side, exposing her neck more. She licked a line along Root's neck and then….

Teeth sank into her neck in two blinding white points of pain. Root whimpered against her will and forced herself not to struggle, to wait for that moment where the pain turned to pleasure. Warmth flooded out from where Shaw's teeth were sunk into her, a thick, burning heat that overwhelmed everything else. The pain was still there, but it felt right now, blending into all the other sensations rolling over her. She was both overly aware of her own body and completely unable to control it at the same time. Her hips jerked up desperately into Shaw's fingers and her hands clenched hard in the sheets. It felt like she was already coming, except it also felt like she was still building and she was absolutely desperate to crest over that final peak and be torn to bits.

She was very aware of Shaw's fangs buried deep in her neck, the origin of the thick waves of heat rolling through her. She'd almost lost track of what Shaw's fingers were doing between her legs when Shaw entered her abruptly with three fingers. Root writhed at the new level of stimulation and she distantly felt Shaw wrapping an arm around her to hold her still. But everything was melting away from her and nothing else mattered except the feeling of Shaw's fangs in her neck and Shaw's fingers curling inside her.

She felt her orgasm building quickly, speeding towards her with every movement of Shaw's fingers. It was way too much. She desperately wanted to come more than she'd ever wanted anything in her life, but she also knew that if she did she would completely disintegrate.

The unstoppable wave of it crashed over her and she lost all sense of her surroundings, stuck in the throes of the heat pulsing through her. Stars swum behind her closed eyelids and she gasped desperately for breath. It felt like it went on for ages, and Root was unable to do anything but drown in it.

When she finally regained some awareness of her surroundings, she found she was lying further back on the bed now, her upper body cradled in Shaw's lap. Shaw was looking down at her with the faintest hint of what Root thought might be concern.

"You back with me now?" Shaw asked.

Root hadn't figured out how to speak yet, so she settled for nodding and beaming up at Shaw. She couldn't help it, Shaw was just so strong and sexy and smart and those lips and her arms and back and how careful she was and that cute little bit of concern and--

Some other part of Root's mind was aware that she was not back to full cognitive functionality yet and probably shouldn't say any of this out loud.

"You're completely wasted, huh?" Shaw sounded amused.

"Mmmm."

"Think you're done for the night."

Shaw started lifting her up and Root tried to push away her hands (she was comfortable here!), but Shaw rolled her over onto the bed onto her stomach.

"Just stay there a second."

It felt like an impossibly long second, but then Shaw was back, sitting on the bed next to her. She heard Shaw fidgeting with something and then something cold touched her butt cheek and she flinched. Shaw's hand pressed down in the same spot a second later, rubbing in small circles.

"It's just a cream I got at the store to help with the stinging," Shaw explained.

"Feels nice," Root said. Her voice was a little slurred, but she could talk again.

"How're you feeling otherwise?"

Root considered that. Her body felt sore, though in a good way, but more than that she felt very floaty and precariously tethered to the world. She was definitely exhausted, but she wasn't sure how to go about falling asleep.

"Your hands feel really nice," she said since that seemed like the most important piece of information she currently possessed.

"Yeah, I bet."

Root managed to fold her arms under her chin and turn her head enough to look up at Shaw. She couldn't tell much from Shaw's expression but that was okay. At least she got to look at her.

Shaw leaned over to brush Root's hair aside so she could examine her neck. She ran her finger over the bite mark and Root felt a dull echo of pain, like pressing on a bruise. Shaw's expression was extremely satisfied.

"You look pleased with yourself."

Shaw let go of her hair and sat back up. "It's a vampire thing, I think."

"I like seeing your marks on me, too." She craned her neck so she could see Shaw better. "And mine on you, though you heal too fast." The bite mark she'd left on Shaw's neck earlier was almost completely gone.

"That's not something I can control, you know." Shaw put the cap back on the little tube of cream and set it aside. "You should probably get some sleep now."

"I'm not sure I can walk back to my room right now. You might have to carry me."

"You can sleep here, it's fine." Shaw sounded resigned.

"And what about you?" There was a very real thread of fear winding through her stomach at the thought of Shaw leaving right now. She wasn't much for sleepovers or sharing her bed, and she knew, logically, that this was all some lingering emotional after effect from how intense things had gotten and not a sign of anything more...inconvenient, but she couldn't shake the craving to have Shaw stay with her, up against her.

"This...isn't my thing," Shaw said slowly, "but I probably should have thought of that before I fucked you stupid, so I guess that's on me."

"Does that mean you're staying?"

"I guess it does." Shaw sighed. "We could both use a shower, too, but I don't think you're going anywhere tonight, huh?"

"Seems unlikely."

She did manage to crawl under the blankets on her own and curl up in a ball on her side. She still felt echoes of their entire evening running through her like live wires. Curled up alone she felt adrift, like smoke in the wind.

The covers pulled against her and the bed shifted and then she felt Shaw's presence at her back.

"You need anything?" Shaw asked a little uncertainly.

"Yes." She reached over and grabbed Shaw's arm and tugged on it until Shaw gave in and closed the distance between them. Shaw felt solid and reassuring at her back and the disconnected feeling she'd had before faded away, tethered down by the touch of Shaw's hand on her hip.

"Fine," Shaw grumbled. "You owe me, though." She pressed her forehead up against the back of Root's shoulder. Her skin felt pleasantly cool up against Root, helping to balance out the last fading traces of the heat that had burned through her.

Root was almost asleep when a thought occurred to her. "Shaw? Do you sleep?"

"Not exactly. I can sort of...drift, I guess. And dream. But it's not the same." She paused. "I'm not going to vanish on you while you sleep."

"Okay." It felt like something more was called for. "Thank you."

"Go to sleep, Root."

* * *

Shaw stood awkwardly in her own front entrance hall watching Root hop on one foot while she pulled her boot on.

"So, Germany," she said, trying to sound casual. She stuck her arm out automatically to keep Root from falling over.

Root smiled at her, all sweet and gross. "Thanks, sweetie. What about Germany?"

"How long do you think your job is going to take?"

Root zipped up the side of her boot and stood firmly on her own two feet again. "Hmm, a week at most. Should be an easy job, I think." She picked up the scarf Shaw had given her to hide the fact she had two extremely noticeable bite marks on her neck, and wound it around her neck, flipping her hair out of the way. Shaw felt a small pang of regret when the bite marks were covered.

There were others she'd added to Root's collection over the last two days--including one on the inside of her thigh that Root had said rubbed against her jeans. It hadn't been clear whether that was a complaint or a bonus.

"You have a lot of jobs lined up?" she asked hopelessly.

The problem was that at no time during the course of the last few days had either of them dared to bring up what might happen after Root's job here was done. Now Root had one foot out the door and Shaw was trying to figure out how to suggest that she might stop by again sometime without having to be the one to bring it up first.

"Just the Germany job for now, but I'm sure something else will fall in my lap afterwards. It always does."

"That's good," Shaw said. She wanted to punch herself in the face for how pathetic she was being right now. She was going to miss out on future sex if she didn't get her act together. "It was, uh, nice having someone else here for a few days," she managed to say.

It had been a lot more than nice. They'd broken two chairs, a night stand, three plates, and an antique grandfather clock. Shaw healed super quickly but she'd still had a few hours where she'd felt exhausted and sore (but in the best way), and, under her clothes, Root looked like she'd been through some kind of kinky weekend sex marathon. Which was pretty accurate.

It hadn't only been the great sex that had made the whole arrangement nice either. Root was, well, she was intriguing. She had all sorts of stories from her job and seemed thrilled when Shaw took even the slightest interest in what she had to say. And she'd been very...easy to exist around. She'd stopped asking questions about the whole vampire thing after the first night and had seemed content to take Shaw as she found her.

She hadn't stopped making jokes about bats though, much to Shaw's disgust, and she'd enjoyed Shaw's payback for that far too much.

"It was nice staying here," Root said. She paused mid-way through zipping up her leather jacket. "We're both really terrible at this, aren't we?"

Shaw felt a surge of relief. "Speak for yourself."

Root looked at her with something approaching fond exasperation. "You know, I think I'm due a vacation soon."

"Oh, yeah?"

"I've never taken one before, so I'm definitely overdue. Maybe after I finish up in Germany."

"What sort of vacation were you thinking of?"

"Hmmm, well--" Root stepped up in front of Shaw and played with the collar of her shirt. "--I was thinking about finding someone who knows how to have a good time to keep me company." She looked at Shaw expectantly and Shaw cursed silently because how dare Root make her be the one who had to ask.

"You could come stay here if you wanted."

Getting the words out was worth it for the way Root's face lit up. Root pulled Shaw up by her collar and kissed her deeply. Five minutes later and Root still hadn't left but she did have one hand down the back of Shaw's pants and Shaw had pulled her scarf away so she could suck aggressively at the healing bite marks.

"I have a plane to catch," Root said with regret.

"A week for Germany, you said?"

"At the most."

Neither of them said goodbye and Root finally made it out the door with only a minimal amount of groping on both their parts.

Shaw stood alone in her hallway looking at the shut door. A week or two gave her plenty of time to plan some fun stuff out for them. Maybe she'd even go shopping. And after Root's vacation was over? Well, they'd deal with that when they got there, but she was fairly certain that neither of them was going to get bored of the other for quite some time.

She turned away from the door and went to go start cleaning up the wreck they'd made of her house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please do not be like shaw and leave milk on your kitchen floor overnight. that's gross, shaw
> 
> hope you enjoyed
> 
> please enjoy [this delightful and nsfw art of Shaw biting Root](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16965201/chapters/51562753).


End file.
